Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Stock: Insider Andreas Bechtolsheim Sells 260,000 Shares

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 260,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.45, for a total transaction of $43,017,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 179,755,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,740,490,560.20. This trade represents a 0.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Andreas Bechtolsheim also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, October 30th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 267,892 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $45,860,431.48.
• On Thursday, September 17th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.95, for a total transaction of $59,685,000.00.
• On Thursday, August 27th, Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 300,000 shares of Arista Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.60, for a total value of $60,780,000.00.

Arista Networks Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of ANET opened at $185.13 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.23. The company has a market cap of $233.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.61. Arista Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.52 and a twelve month high of $217.41.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 32.20% and a net margin of 39.97%. Arista Networks’s revenue was up 58.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. Analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arista Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,748 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,770 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 6,352 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,318,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 2,179 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Arista Networks by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,912 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Key Arista Networks News

Here are the key news stories impacting Arista Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its Q4 2026 EPS estimate to $1.19 from $1.06 and maintained an Overweight rating with a $250 price target, signaling confidence in Arista’s earnings prospects. Arista Networks analyst coverage
• Positive Sentiment: AI-focused commentary points to continued data-center investment and networking demand as potential support for Arista, with ANET included among stocks investors might consider buying amid the tech selloff. AI Boom Isn’t Over: 4 Stocks to Buy the Dip
• Neutral Sentiment: Arista’s recent results were strong—quarterly revenue grew 58.5% year over year and EPS beat estimates—and its approximately $18.5 billion 2027 revenue outlook underscores growth ambitions. However, the company’s $11.4 billion in supplier commitments make execution important to delivering that outlook. Arista’s supplier commitments and 2027 outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Reports cite a broad AI-hardware selloff that has pressured Arista shares despite its strong results, pointing to sector sentiment as a near-term headwind. Arista shares amid the AI-hardware selloff
• Negative Sentiment: Major shareholder Andreas Bechtolsheim sold 260,000 shares for about $43 million. The sale was under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan and reduced his stake by just 0.14%, which may temper—but does not eliminate—the negative signal investors could read into insider selling. Arista major shareholder sale

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ANET has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $291.00 target price (up from $259.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $240.00 to $261.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Arista Networks from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.24.

About Arista Networks

Arista Networks, Inc. develops software-driven networking products for large data centers, cloud environments, AI workloads, and enterprise campuses. Its offerings include Ethernet switches and routers, along with software and services for managing, monitoring, and securing networks. The company’s software portfolio includes its Extensible Operating System (EOS), which runs across its networking platforms, and CloudVision, a platform for network automation and management. Arista’s products are used by cloud providers, businesses, and other organizations to connect and manage computing infrastructure.